IPL 2018 Match 4 Preview-Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals

Both Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals were missing their captains for the first game of IPL 2018 to be held today at Hyderabad. This encounter seems to be the war between two classic but stylish batsmen leading both the teams, namely, Ajinkya Rahane and Williamson. This match will be an ordeal for both the teams about how they can tackle the critical situations in the absence of star players.Match Begins In:

The hosts of this game lost a star player, David Warner even before the commencement of IPL on account of ball-tampering scandal. They called for Alex Hales as a replacement for David Warner. Hales is playing his first ever IPL title and he might not bat as an opener. So, the top order has to sweat hard to set a huge score if the team has to bat first.

The team has star bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan who are the strong contenders for the purple cap this year. Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, and Siddharth Kaul are some other crucial bowlers for this team.

Coming to the Rajasthan Royals, they missed out the star batsman Steve Smith due to the ball tampering issue. Their main weapon is the batting department while the SRH has bowling as the strong side. This match seems a battle between the bat and the ball with pinch hitters on the side of Rajasthan Royals like Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Ajinkya Rahane and Heinrich Klassen.

If Sunrisers Hyderabad bat first

If the hosts are set to bat first, the score may range up to 160 runs or above. Shikhar Dhawan and Williamson may open the game and Manish Pandey may come at No3. Dhawan and Manish Pandey are at the best of their form and we may expect some sensational knocks from the middle-order as well with batsmen like Deepak Hooda and Yusuf. The top order is expected to make a huge score and the middle-order has to keep the flow of runs to set a massive score to restrict the opponents.

If Rajasthan Royals bat first

The Rajasthan Royals has a good number of consistent batsmen like Rahane, Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klassen, and Ben Stokes. They are expected to make a mark of 165 runs. They have to encounter economic bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma to make a huge score and make their way to clinch the title. The team is back into competition after serving two years of ban period.

Rahane may open the game along with Rahul Tripathi or D’Arcy short. The middle order has star batsmen like Ben Stokes and Heinrich Klassen. With players like Jos Buttler, even the chase of huge score becomes a cake walk.

The match begins at 8 pm today at Rajiv Gandhi stadium, Hyderabad.

As both the teams are missing out their skippers, they have to make new strategies to get on to the track. The hosts have the home advantage over Rajasthan Royals.